Challenge accepted
by Chaos-in-sync
Summary: Draco accepts a dare from Ginny. Things go 'awfully' wrong :


**R/R please!~ I know that the detention thing has been done a 101 times, but today I thought- Hey! Now let's make that 102! Not only faves and alerts please, I LIVE FOR REVIEWS lol. Barney Stinson inspired me.**

**X**

"Who the bloody hell threw that?"

The youngest Weasley had gotten up just in time to be hit straight in the face by a black book. As the book slid off of her face she could feel her knuckles clenched around the chair, until they became white. Her vision blurred and she was just about ready to throw a tantrum, but instead regained her composure and calmed down just enough for her vision to stabilize.

Taunts, insults- yes she can take. More insults about Harry and her? She can damn well handle- even if it's by that snotty albino. But you throw an effing book at a Weasley- you shall not see your vital parts in the morning.

A blonde boy approached her clutching his stomach and trying very hard to not laugh. He picked up the fallen book and spelled out the title pointedly for her _The Boy Who Lived_- 'and I guess that's as close as you'll get to Potter, **Weasley'**. He said her name as if it was a incurable case of dragon pox. Ginny's vision was clouded once more and she blacked out for a few moments before she was so very harshly brought back to reality.

You throw the bloody book at a Weasley and then you insult her- you shall not live to see daylight. In some unwritten book, this was a universal law, and justice had to be served.

Ginny charged at the chuckling boy until, he was pressed under her, squirming and no longer giggling. His buff cronies- Crabbe and Goyle stood awestricken and after a brief, literally, moment darted out. Ginny reigned blow after blow on Malfoy as he struggled to find his wand, but only managed to touch Ginny's arse amongst the unwanted havoc. She gasped in fury, and that was the only time she had stopped with the ill-directed punches.

"50 points from Slytherin and Gryffindor!" a shrill voice rung through the faces of a great many Hogwarts students all of which had formed a large circle around the fight. Draco stared at them blankly and saw a tall figure with green robes trying to push through the crowd; his eyes followed the blob of green until finally the tall bony figure of Professor McGonagall emerged.

"You two- get up!" The professor straightened her robes, "oh and Cory please take Madam Pince to the infirmary."

Ginny stopped, and Malfoy lay stunned. His stormy grey eyes locked onto Ginny's amber eyes, as fire flickered between them. Her chest was heaving with ill-controlled breathing, and his hand was still where it shouldn't have been. Professor McGonagall pulled them both up by clutching the back of their robes. After what seemed like an eternity to both the redhead and the blonde boy Professor McGonagall pushed them into her office.

"Now" she said "Mr. Malfoy, how dare you assault a girl? And Miss Weasley, this is not your first time in my office."

Professor McGonagall vanished the red lump forming on Ginny's head. Ginny shifted noticeably uncomfortably in her chair, and Malfoy plainly stared at the walls icily with his hair messed up and tie eschew.

"I want a full report of why you two actually thought vandalizing the library like that was simply excusable." Ginny began to speak but instead Malfoy piped up with a well-rehearsed speech-

"I was simply studying for my _transfiguration_ in the library, when Crabbe and Goyle started playing with a book. This infuriated me, who wouldn't be…and I found myself chucking it away. It was simply misfortune it hit Weasley's forehead" Malfoy leaned in closer to whisper "after all it is quite a prominent target, yes?" he leaned back for the long haul acting infuriatingly calm, "before I could explain myself, she jumped on me, and as you've seen with your own eyes,_ Professor_, she assaulted me!"

_What a lying wanker!_ thought Ginny. First Draco had insulted her, and then commanded Goyle or Crabbe (whichever one) to throw it at her, and play dumb.

"Your account Ginevra?"

Ginny was about to open her mouth to deliver the truth and turn of events, and closed it instantly. If she was to be humiliated like this, she better take somebody with her. A small smirk played on her face.

"Only because after that" and with all the years of training from Fred and George pulling on the most reliable puppy-dog eyes she explained _"he tried to kiss me._"

McGonagall tried to stifle a very audible gasp, and Malfoy protested with inhumane noises, somewhere between a shocked gasp and swear words. McGonagall lifted a hand gesture towards Malfoy for silence.

McGonagall cast a stern look at her two detention recipients; "Tomorrow; detention at 8pm for both of you. Violence is never an answer, and kissing is definitely out of the question!"

Malfoy began to fix his tie "this isn't over yet."

Ginny gave a very Malfoy-like smirk and replied "certainly not."

Ginny and Draco stood up and turned around, wanting to exit before the other and they managed to get caught in the door. Ginny shoved her knee into Draco's vital parts not-so-gently and Draco extended a hand to pull Ginny's ear. After a fairly short effort both of them walked out surprisingly unscathed and darted off in opposite directions leaving McGonagall with a big report to fill out for Snape.

**X**

"You're late so go arrange the files" muttered Ginny scrubbing her 10th cauldron without the use of absolutely no magic. She huffed some hair out of her face and crinkled her noise with disgust.

"Missing Potter, I see?"

There was no voice of a reply, only the constant scrubbing of the cauldron.

Malfoy took awhile to survey the junk-filled broom closet. Some brooms in the corner, Ms. Norris's past time, some cauldrons- scratch that- many cauldrons and a few boxes full of unwanted files, and Hogsmeade slips from quite sometime ago. After a perplexed moment he had decided this would be awfully time-consuming and boring. Determined to provoke a fight with the Weaslette and restore order to his universe, he concentrated his efforts on her.

He snorted- "You're very handy with those cauldrons. Seems like the work you do at home paid off."

The smirk was easily wiped off his face, however, when the Weaslette spoke. It wasn't so much her words; it was how she said them. In the past couple of weeks she had grown a great deal stronger than she had been as a little girl and, quite frankly, she was the only one who presented a challenge.

"Why don't you go annoy somebody who cares?"

Today, however, her words held no venom, no bite, no wit, not disdainful boredom, they were simply hollow. Unlike yesterday, he didn't want to use manual labour to watch her burn up.

"Unless you've gone blind, you can clearly see I'm doing that."

He had simply grown accustomed to her wit and found that it left a gaping hole in his daily entertainment.

Yes, he did know he was acting like a ten year old, but it was his only option. He couldn't do anything else _but_ insult her. It wasn't like he could just walk up to her and ask her to talk.

"This is your entire fault, Weaslette." Draco hissed, going through his own files. A tic was making its way to Ginny's clenched jaw. Ginny could not fathom how she had been condemned to such a cruel fate. Here she stood, next to Draco Bloody Malfoy, being issued her task for tonight's detention. All of this is _his_ fault; didn't Professor McGonagall understand she was the innocent victim in all of this?

"Oh, really? I _vaguely_ seem to recall a certain Slytherin chucking a book at my face, don't you?"

"And I completely remember a freckled monkey telling McGonagall I kissed it, don't you?"

Ginny gave a hollow laugh- "What a clever primate it must have been to lie like that. After all we all know Draco Bloody Malfoy doesn't have the guts to kiss a girl."

"Is that a challenge I hear little Weaslette?"

"Not now. I'm tired Malfoy. How about we do it some other day?"

"You are such a bore Weasley."

"Thank you."

_Scrub-scrub-scrub_

"What's the matter Weasley?"

"You! There's like 72 of us, as you've said earlier, so you either call me Gin or Ginny, but certainly not Weasley."

He hated how she could use his own comebacks against him, but on the bright side wit seemed to be seeping into her words once again. It was the perfect time to provoke her. It was also the perfect time to use her own words against her, after all it was certainly fair.

"Ginny…" Draco called; his voice smooth and silky.

Cold breath dawned upon Ginny's neck, deceasing the incessant scrubbing. Heat spread throughout her face and with glowing cheeks. Gasping, her gaze fell on the pale hand taking the liberty to move a coppery-red lock behind her ear. This stretched on for what seemed an perpetuity, before the redhead found her voice, as if 20 frogs had been plunged down her throat.

Draco's lips slowly brushed against her rosy cheek, as her hands tightened on a nearby cauldron ready to assault on queue. His lips morphed into an obnoxious smirk.

"You thought I was going to kiss you didn't you? What good is the challenge, when the challenger's a chicken?"

He began to laugh, as Ginny's face turned to deepen the violent shade of red, and she turned back to her work in disgust. He had succeeded in his mission to achieve his daily dose of humour- and that's saying something, because it was near to midnight.

A small smile played upon Draco's lips upon realizing, what actually made her tick off wasn't the incessant work or insults- it was flirting; and he enjoyed that option very much indeed. He liked the way her skin flushed right after a blush appeared on her alabaster skin, and how she unconsciously pouted her lips after swearing like a sailor.

"Malfoy it won't hurt to get your pretty hands dirty" said Ginny, much calmly this time pointing towards the unsorted boxes "the faster the work's done, the faster I can get the hell out of here."

"Sure," Draco said lazily, "I just thought you might enjoy it. I mean, I'm sure you feel at home here with all the rubbish."

Draco picked up a box, emptied it- and half way through the task, sighed in defeat. Draco had been staring into the box for more than 10 minutes. He was bored. You'd think that in a room this filthy, there'd be something to do, but the truth was there was exactly the opposite. So the Slytherin Prince was now craving for some humour, some voice and some vivacious redhead sitting only a few feet away.

"So Ginny, I hear this isn't you're first time in detention. So why were you here the last time?" he asked.

"That is very well none of you're business Mr. Malfoy." She can't possibly tell him of the time she made dungbombs explode in Binns class just because it had gotten a tad bit too boring for her taste.

"If we're going to spend the next hour locked up in this forsaken place it would go by even faster if we talked," suggested Draco.

"Well," she said after awhile, placing her hands on her hips and surveying the room, "this hasn't taking us nearly as long so let me help you carry those boxes up."

Draco didn't say anything, just gave a scowl as he gripped one side of the huge box, while Ginny grabbed the other side. Each time he was close to penetrating that fiery exterior, the girl kept lighting off. Malfoy was unsuccessful because of Ginny's tendency to change subjects so often.

They heaved the big box on the top shelf, and a small crumpled slip came fluttering out, which Malfoy caught in mid-air. Excellent quidditch seeker reflexes, you see.

"That was heavier than I'd thought it would be." She turned to face Draco and gave him a knowing look, "You're not as useless as you look."

"Thank you" he replied, his tone purposely without nuance. Ginny couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped. Draco stared at her, a little too intensely for Ginny's comfort, but she was about to leave anyway. Draco looked down at the yellow note in his hands.

_I allow my daughter Ginevr_a Draco's eyes widened for it was quite a posh name _Molly_ he stifled a laugh _Weasley to go to Hogsmeade blah blah blah _Draco's eyes quickly scanned the mutilated piece of paper until his eyes dropped on a very delectable piece of information _My daughter has extremely sensitive skin. Once she was bitten by a mosquito and the lump wouldn't go for a month._

He smiled inwardly, watching how Ginny would from time to time push her hair away from her shoulders revealing the creamy skin of her modest neck. He thought for awhile if after tonight she walked out with hickeys on her neck- what would people think? Draco and Ginny together in a broom shed, and Ginny walks out with messed hair and hickeys? But alas- even if after that his reputation wouldn't be restored he could still get the Weasley to jump out of her calm composure. Sounded like fun to him.

He sauntered over to the redhead and whispered mock-seductively in her ear "look what I found". Ginny turned to face Malfoy waving the piece of paper in her face, and let go of the doorknob.

"Okay" she replied sardonically yet accurately aware of whose and what it was, "a piece of paper. Have fun." Draco gave a groan and said "Weasel, do you always have to make a joke out of everything?"

"Only if a joke comes to me quick enough," she answered cheekily.

His finger trailed down her neck, as she gazed squarely into his face, cocking one eyebrow.

"Picture this Weasley- let's say you leave, and in the morning they'd find pink marks across your neck. Last person with you was me. So what would they think? Let's say, I don't know- a love bite maybe? Ginny and Malfoy? Seems like your whole reputation just went down the drain then, like you did to mine yesterday."

Ginny gave a mirthless laugh. "Really now, Malfoy? You- hickeys? Remember yesterday, when I said you kissed me- you damn well knew you didn't have it in you to even kiss me, so what makes you think you can leave hickeys?"

"So you're saying I'm too scared to kiss you?" he asked amused.

"Yes. Yes I am" she waited for a respond, an insult, a whatever, but the words were left hanging in mid-air. He looked, almost, Ginny prayed it was not so, wistful.

"Draco Malfoy, **I dare you** _to kiss me_. Now let's just see what a coward you really are" challenged Ginny her eyes beaming with pride at the chance to prove him a coward. For she fairly well, knew that the Slytherin who was now pressing her against the wall, calculating her every move- could not do it.

He leaned in closer to her neck, and she could feel his cold breathing against her cheek. Ginny shivered slightly at the feel of his breath on her face. But he had made no such advance to continue, and she felt triumph seeping in. She looked unfazed by the entire incident.

"You know what we Gryffs call people who can't handle a challenge? You're a bloody cowar- "

Ginny couldn't finish her sentence, for the bloody coward had already captured her lips with his own. For a concise moment, Ginny just stood stoic her eyes widened with shock. She could think of a hundred and one reasons flying through her head telling her this was wrong. But only one reason why it was right- and that was reason enough. She felt her knees buckle, and herself admitting defeat as she kissed him back with equal passion. Draco deftly undid the buttons of her shirt, and his cold hands send a shiver of electricity up her spine making her moan slightly. He took the chance; his tongue immediately darting out to dance with hers. She ran her hand through his hair, as his hand nimbly climbed up her back.

They pulled apart for air.

"Challenge accepted" he muttered huskily into Ginny's ears. She was so surprised that she stopped to gape at him. She put her hand across his forehead to check for his temperature.

"No nasty remarks? No trying to blackmail me over yesterday?"she asked tentatively.

"Hmm," he said, mockingly putting his hand on her chin possessively, "now that you say so…"

Ginny gave a snort which he chose to ignore, "but I'm a very kindhearted bloke".

"So…I guess we should just keep this between us?" she asked gruffly. The reality of what had happened was slamming into her, and she was hysterically trying to validate it. Reasons were flying through her mind, but the one important fact that her mind kept bouncing around was that she had enjoyed it. She wildly, intensely and meticulously had enjoyed the passionate encounter with Draco Malfoy.

"I think…we should get back to where we were before this" he suggested, annoyingly calm after the whole thing; his hand still pressed against the wall with Ginny in his grasp.

She took a sharp intake of air- whatever fantasy she had, this was not it. This was simply a dare, and she was just a counterpart.

Ginny responded, "You're right." She reached out for the doorknob, but before she could open the door and part ways gratefully leaving behind the little incident;

_Click._

Malfoy had closed it shut, with an unmistakable gleam in his eyes.

"No...That's not what I meant Ginny" he responded inching himself even closer this time, watching Ginny's eyes dance. Ginny pulled her eyes from the scene unfolding before them and looked up into his eyes. He waited to gauge her expression. A small smirk was fighting to play across her pink lips.

Malfoy began to fix his tie, "this isn't over yet."

Ginny gave a very Malfoy-like smirk and replied "certainly not."

**X**

**So how was it? Reviews greatly appreciated! Thank you!**


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